Lead like a great Conductor

An orchestra conductor faces the ultimate leadership challenge: creating perfect harmony without saying a word. In this charming talk, Itay Talgam demonstrates the unique styles of six great 20th-century conductors, illustrating crucial lessons for all leaders.

Just Opened on Friday, November 27, 2009

Some new artist debuts, and some Mahler:



"Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5" - Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich; David Zinman, cond. Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra continue their excellent Mahler cycle for RCA Red Seal. In Hybrid SuperAudio CD format. (RCA Red Seal 886973145029 / 31450)







"Franz Schubert: Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 1" - Julia Fischer, violin; Martin Helmchen, piano. Although Fischer now records for the Decca label, the bulk of her discography comes from her first label, PentaTone Classics, from which comes this new release. Three Sonatas, Op. 137, plus the "Rondo Brilliant" in b minor, Op. 70. In Hybrid SuperAudio CD format. (PentaTone Classics 827949034763 / PTC 5186 347)





"Dvorak/Szymanowski: Violin Concertos" - Arabella Steinbacher, violin; Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; Marek Janowski, cond. Just a couple years older than Julia Fischer, German-born violinist Arabella Steinbacher made her concert debut about the same time Fischer made her recording debut with PentaTone Classics. For her own CD debut on PentaTone, Steinbacher chose the Violin Concerto and Romance, Op. 11 by Dvorak, and the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Karol Szymanowski, both performed with the Berlin Radio Symphony directed by Marek Janowski. In Hybrid SuperAudio CD format. (PentaTone Classics 827949035364 / PTC 5186 353)


"Yuja Wang: Sonatas and Etudes - Chopin, Scriabin, Liszt, Ligeti" - Yuja Wang, piano. Listeners to "Performance Today" on WSCL have already heard this bright young Chinese pianist, here making her recording debut with Sonatas by Chopin, Liszt, and Scriabin - the Sonata No. 2 by Chopin, Liszt's b-minor Sonata, and Scriabin's Sonata No. 2 in b minor. To provide a further connecting link, and contrast, in between the larger works are two etudes by 20th-Century composer Gyorgy Ligeti. (Deutsche Grammophon 028947781806 / B0012534-02)




"Edin Karamazov: The Lute is a Song" - Edin Karamazov, lute; various artists. In the liner notes to this release, Sting describes Karamazov as a lutenist who takes risks, and he certainly does in this varied program. Included is a duet with Sting on one of his songs, "Alone with my Thoughts this Evening;" "Dido's Lament" by Henry Purcell with Renee Fleming, and a Handel aria with countertenor Andreas Scholl. But it's the solo lute pieces where Karamazov really takes off - an electric lute version of a cuban rhumba by Leo Brouwer; Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d minor scored for lute, and Carlo Domeniconi's "Koyunbaba." (L'Oiseau-Lyre/Decca 028947810773 / B0013278-2)

Thanks once again to the labels and artists for the music heard on "Just Opened."

Bill

On Haydn, and a Haydn scholar

This year marks the bicentennial of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn, and ironically, just this month, the recent passing of one of the great Haydn scholars of the 20th Century - HC Robbins Landon. A great deal of our understanding and appreciation of Haydn and his music is due to the pioneering work of this man. A full appreciation can be read on the UK Guardian's website.

Bill

Happy Thanksgiving!

WSCL wishes you a happy and restful Thanksgiving holiday. We are thankful for all of our listeners, who support us and keep classical music going strong on the air.

On Thanksgiving evening at 6pm, join us for "Harvest Home" a special program of traditional Shaker hymns and folk songs from American Public Media the Dale Warland singers.

What's new on Just Opened, 11/20/09

A noteworthy reissue, plus two recording debuts:

"Edward Elgar: Symphonies 1 & 2; In the South; Serenade for Strings" - Philharmonia Orchestra; Halle Orchestra; John Barbirolli; Constantin Silvestri; Norma Del Mar, conductors. One of five recent two-disc reissues in EMI's "British Composer" series. John Barbirolli had a life-long association with the music of Elgar; he was in the cello section of the orchestra for the first performance of the Cello Concerto, and first conducted the Symphony No. 2 only 48 hours after first viewing the score. His early 1960's recordings for EMI of the two Symphonies have been critical and catalogue favorites for years, and are joined on this two-disc set with "In the South" conducted by Silvestri, and the Serenade for Strings by Norman Del Mar. (EMI Classics 50999 9 6824 2 8 / 68924)


"Chants d'Est: Songs from Slavic Lands" - Sonia Wieder-Atherton, cello; Sinfonia Varsovia; Christophe Mangou, cond. Wieder-Atherton's debut CD is a concept album, with works and arrangements from composers in what she calls "Mitteleuropa" - lands and cultures that for years were subjects of the Austro-Hungarian empire and who fought to keep their own languages and identities. Composers represented include Rachmaninoff (Nunc dimittis from Vespers), Prokofiev ("The Field of the Dead" from Alexander Nevsky) and Alexander Tcherepnin (Tatar Dance.) From Czech composers, Janacek (an arrangement of his Moravian Folk Songs by Franck Krawczyk called "Jeux d'enfants") and Martinu (Variations on a Slavic Folk Song.) There are highlights from Erno Dohnanyi's "Ruralia Hungarica" and one of Mahler's Ruckert lieder - all pieces arranged for cello and orchestra. (Naive 822186051788 / V 5178)


"Liszt/Rachmaninoff" - Nareh Arghamanyan, piano. 20-year old Nareh Arghamanyan was the grand prize winner of the 2008 Montreal International Music Competition, and this is her debut CD, with two grand Romantic piano sonatas: the Sonata No. 2 in b-flat minor, and the Liszt Sonata in b minor. (Analekta 774204876227 / AN 2 8762)








"Howard Goodall: Eternal Light: A Requeim" - Natasha Marsh, soprano; Alfie Boe, tenor; Christopher Maltman, baritone; the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford; London Musici; Stephen Darlington, cond. Goodall is best known for his soundtrack work, having penned memorable scores for the TV series' "Blackadder," "Red Dwarf" and "The Vicar of Dibley." He also composes quite of bit of choral music in a similar populist style. Writing a Requiem can be a special challenge, and for Goodall's Requiem the focus is less for the repose of souls, and more for solace and comfort for the living - much like Brahms' Requiem, in that regard. Goodall mixes the original Latin texts with contemporary poems, with verses by Phineas Fletcher, John MacCrae, Francis Quarles, and Mary Elizabeth Frye. The disc concludes with three shorter works, "Love Divine," "Spared," and the setting of Psalm 23 "The Lord is My Sheperd" from "The Vicar of Dibley." (EMI Classics 5099921504723 / 15047)



"Robert Schumann: String Quartet No. 3 Op. 41;
Piano Quintet Op. 44" - Takacs Quartet; Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano. The Takacs Quartet's most recent recordings on the Hyperion label explore the Romantic chamber music tradition, with works by Schubert and Brahms. For this brand-new Schumann CD, they enlisted the help of pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin for Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet Op. 44. (Hyperion 034571176314 / CDA 67631)





All the recordings heard on "Just Opened" are provided by the various record companies and artists for promotional purposes. For more information on any of the recordings heard on WSCL, visit the homepage of our website.

Bill

Just Opened, Friday 11/13/2009

Music with a Hungarian flavor, three violinists, and some nifty Russian Choral Music:

"Ravishingly Russian: 19th and 20th Century
Russian Secular Choral Music" - Houston Chamber Choir; Robert Simpson, cond. "Ravishing" isn't quite the proper word to use when describing Russian Choral music, which has its roots in the ancient Byzantine tradition of the Orthodox Church, which proscribes any musical instrument save the human voice. Sounds very serious, but oh, what a glorious sound! As old Russia became more cosmopolitan and more secular in the 19th century, that tradition of a cappella singing suited the genre of popular music quite well, too. The texts here are by Russian poets such as Pushkin, Blok, and Lermontov; with music by Taneyev, Rachmaninoff, Cui, Tchaikovsky, Arensky and others. (MSR Classics 681585131121 / MS 1311)



"Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1/
Variations on a Theme by Haydn" - Budapest Festival Orchestra; Ivan Fischer, cond. Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra tap into the Magyar spirit that had such a profound influence in the music of Brahms, with a performance of the 1st Symphony, the "Haydn" Variations, and the Hungarian Dance No. 14 thrown in for good measure. In Hybrid SuperAudio CD format. (Channel Classics 723385283096 / CCS SA 28309)




"Jeno Hubay: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2;
Scenes de la Csarda Nos. 3 and 4" - Chloe Hanslip, violin; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Mogrelia, cond. The 21-year-old English violinist Chloe Hanslip is just beginning to make a name for herself, playing music by composers whose names aren't exactly household words, but whose music you really should hear. Two of her recordings feature music by Romantic-era violinist-composers such as Antonio Bazzini and Benjamin Godard; this new one features the first two concertos by the Hungarian violinist-composer Jeno Hubay, who studied with Joseph Joachim and Henri Vieuxtemps. Includes two of the folk music-flavored "Csardas" scenes. (Naxos 747313207879 / 8.572078)


"Angele Dubeau: Virtuose" - Angele Dubeau, violin. Canadian virtuoso Angele Dubeau gets her own "best-of" collection from Analekta, with selections from her many recordings as a solo artist, or directing her own string ensemble La Pieta. Selections by Locatelli, Paganini, Mendelssohn, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Sarasate, Chopin, Prokofiev, Mozart, Martinu and Sibelius show why she's considered a national treasure. (Analekta 77420487922 / AN 2 8729)





"Franz Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5" -
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; Gordan Nikolic, cond. In addition to his career as a concert violinist, Gordan Nikolic is also the Music Director for the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has already recorded several CDs. This latest release features two symphonies Franz Schubert composed in rapid succession, the Symphony No. 4 in c minor, called "Tragic," and the Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major. In Hybrid SuperAudio CD format.(PentaTone Classics 827949034060 PTC 5186 340)



Thanks to all the labels and musicians for sending the music, and helping us continue to bring you "Just Opened."

Bill

Just Opened, Friday November 6, 2009

What's new on WSCL this week:

"Rollando Villazon: Handel" - Roland Villazon, tenor; Gabrieli Players; Paul McCreesh, cond. Tenor Rollando Villazon is back! He's announced it himself in an ebullient mini-video on his own website, which you can view here. He was forced to cancel or postpone a number of engagements this past year to have some surgery done on his vocal chords. In the meantime, fans had to content themselves with his fine discography, the most recent addition being this collection of arias from Handel's operas Tamerlano, Rodelinda, Serse, Ariodante, and La Resurrezione. (DG 028947780564 / B0012574-02) Welcome back, Rollando. We missed you.



"Robert Schumann: Sonata in f-sharp minor, Op. 11;
Faschingsschwent aus Vien, Op. 26; Waldszenen, Op. 82"
- Sally Pinkas, piano. Israeli-born pianist Sally Pinkas has recorded for a number of different labels, with two recent projects on the MSR Classics label - Faure's Piano Quartets with the Adaskin Trio (MSR 1293, featured earlier this year on WSCL,) and this collection of long-form piano works by Robert Schumann: the Piano Sonata, "Carnival in Vienna," and "Forest Scenes." (MSR Classics 681585132326 / MS 1323)


"Rachel Podger: Haydn and Mozart" - Rachel Podger, violin;
Pavlo Beznosiuk, viola; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Rachel Podger is one of the foremost exponents of the baroque violin playing today, with several fine recordings to her name. This recent addition features two of Haydn's infrequently-heard Violin Concertos, and Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola. For the Mozart, she gets assistance from another early-music ace, the violinist Pavlo Beznosiuk (here playing the viola) and the generous loan of two Stradivarii from the Royal Academy of Music. In all three works, Podger directs the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Disc is in Hybrid SuperAudio CD format. (Channel Classics 723385293095 / CCS SA 29309)


"J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos" - English Baroque Soloists; Kati Debretzeni & John Eliot Gardiner, cond. It only seems that Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists have been playing the music of Bach for a millenia, with numerous well-received recordings to their credit on the Erato, DG Archiv, and now Soli Deo Gloria labels. Yet in all those years and all those recordings, this is their first recording of the Brandenburgs. So what do they offer? In the liner notes, Gardiner makes clear his approach: the Brandenburgs sound best when directed, as he puts it, "in a conductor-free zone." Other than giving a few suggestions, such as focusing on the dance character and having fun (perhaps a little too much fun on the part of the horn players in the Concerto No. 1, but I digress) Gardiner was content to sit on the sidelines and turn the overall direction over to first violinist, Kati Debretzeni. The results are surprisingly refreshing, and as Gardiner concludes in the liner notes, "when it comes to hitting a propulsive groove, no one is a match for J.S. Bach." Recorded during and after live performances in Paris and London. (Soli Deo Gloria 843183070725 / SDG 707)


"Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 15" -
Mariinsky Orchestra; Valery Gergiev, cond. The storied Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra of St Petersburg has their own label now, with three recordings and counting. The first was of Shostakovich's satirical opera, "The Nose," (which, by the way, will be featured in the upcoming season of Saturday afternoon broadcasts of the Toll Brothers Metropolitan Opera on WSCL) and this first disc of his symphonies. The brash and confident 1st, composed when the composer was all of 18, is one of the greatest debuts of any composer; the eerie and enigmatic 15th, his last, came at the age of 65 when the composer was near the end of his life. In Hybrid SuperAudio CD format. (Mariinsky 822231850229 / MAR 0502)



"Richard Strauss: Josephs-Legende; Der Rosenkavalier;
Die Frau ohne Schatten" - Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, cond. Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic continue their fine series of recordings for the Naxos label, with three concert suites by Richard Strauss: The Symphonic Fragment from "The Legend of Joseph;" Suite from "The Knight of the Rose;" and the Symphonic Fantasy on the opera, "The Woman Without a Shadow." (Naxos 747313204175 / 8.572041)



Thanks always to the labels and artists who continue to support Classical Music programming on WSCL. You can find links to more information about these and other recordings on the homepage of our website. Thanks for listening!

Bill